1. Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a washing machine having a balancer to offset unbalanced load generated during rotation of a drum.
2. Description of the Related Art
A washing machine washes laundry using electric force. Generally, a washing machine includes a cabinet forming the external appearance thereof, a tub disposed in the cabinet to contain wash water, a drum rotatably mounted in the tub, and a motor to rotate the drum.
When the drum is rotated by the motor in a state in which laundry and detergent water are contained in the drum, the laundry rubs against the drum and wash water so that contaminants are removed from the laundry.
If the laundry is not uniformly distributed in the drum but accumulates at one side during rotation of the drum, vibration and noise are generated by eccentric rotation of the drum. In the worst case, the drum or the motor may be damaged. To prevent such eccentric rotation of the drum, a balancer to offset unbalanced load generated in the drum to stabilize rotation of the drum is mounted to the drum.
In recent years, consumer demand for a washing machine to wash a large amount of laundry at once has been increased, and therefore, washing capacity of the washing machine has gradually been increased.
Washing capacity is related to the size of the drum. The diameter of the drum is increased to increase the size of the drum. If the diameter of the drum is increased, the diameter of the balancer mounted to the drum is also increased. However, it takes substantial cost and time to develop various balancers corresponding to different diameters of the drum.